


I know my sister like I know my own mind

by BroadwayBaggins



Category: Mercy Street (TV)
Genre: Family, Gen, Sisters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:41:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23631778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BroadwayBaggins/pseuds/BroadwayBaggins
Summary: Emma and Mary discuss family. Anne has a few things to say.
Relationships: Anne Hastings & Mary Phinney, Emma Green & Anne Hastings, Emma Green & Mary Phinney
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	I know my sister like I know my own mind

“Have you any brothers or sisters, Nurse Mary?”

The question, posed by Miss Green during a rare quiet moment on the ward, was prompting by the arrival of the sister of one of the wounded boys. She had been sent down from Philadelphia, she had proclaimed, on behalf of her mother who could not travel. The girl was sweet and soft-spoken, boasting vibrant red curls and an amiable expression and wearing more frills and crinolines than anyone thought practical or appropriate for visiting a hospital full of sick men. Emma had watched the girl all but glide in and felt a rush of embarrassment for her own first day at Mansion House hospital, how she had dressed much the same and regretted it instantly. How naive and foolish she had been then...and yet, she did not feel resentment towards the girl who stood before them now. If anything, she felt bad for her. She, too, had been that innocent and hopeful once, but no longer...and Emma couldn’t exactly say that she was sorry for the transformation, either.

They had taken her to her brother and given her some privacy, and now they sat talking quietly. The boy had lost the lower half of his leg, and his sister was trying valiantly not to look at it. Emma bit her lip, feeling a rush of sympathy for the young man. Ignoring his injuries and the trauma he’d endured...that was no way for him to heal. But it wasn’t Emma’s place to say so, and she busied herself with changing the subject as she turned to Nurse Mary, who was struggling with folding a sheet. Wordlessly, Emma held out her arms to help, and Mary passed the fabric over.

“Both, in fact. Two brothers with me in between them, and a younger sister. Caroline. They’re all scattered around New England now, busy providing me with a sturdy crop of nieces and nephews to dote on.” She smiled, and Emma did too--Nurse Mary talked about her family so rarely.

“That must be nice. I would so dearly love to be an aunt! Maybe someday. A few of my cousins are married with babies, but it isn’t quite the same thing, is it?”

“She certainly is a devoted sister, that one,” Miss Hastings piped up from the next bed over, where she was gathering bandages. Emma looked over in surprise--she hadn’t even seen Anne approach them, much less expected her to join in their conversation. “To travel so far to see her brother! I can’t imagine my sister making such a journey for me.” She thought for a moment, then gave a wry chuckle. “Unless she needed something from me, of course.”

To the surprise of both Emma and Anne, Mary laughed as well. “Such is the way of younger sisters, I suppose. At least with respect to us older ones.” She smoothed her hands over the neatly folded sheet, a faint smile on her face as she no doubt thought of her own younger sister.

Emma, however, found her curiosity couldn’t be quenched quite that easily. “You have a sister, Miss Hastings? Is she back in England?”

Anne gave a most unladylike snort. The old Emma might have been scandalized, but the Emma she was now simply grinned. “Heavens, no. She would never have been content to sit in England while I’m, as she would put it, having adventures over here. She followed me not two months after I left and volunteered herself as a nurse as well. She hasn’t nearly the experience, mind you, but she hates to be left out. She’s up in New York, farther from all the excitement, and much the better for it. From her letters, she seems to be doing well, although I do worry sometimes. She’s far too wild to truly understand what it means to be a properly disciplined nurse.”

Emma’s eyes had widened during Miss Hastings’ speech. She tried to imagine Alice worrying over her like Anne did her sister, and found that she could not. It seemed like Alice was slipping farther and farther away from her these days...and some days it seemed like she would soon be lost to Emma forever.

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Emma said quietly. “She learned from you, after all.”

Anne Hastings looked pleased at Emma’s words, but with no one but the three of them to hear, she didn’t allow herself to dwell too long on the flattery. “Well. Come along then, ladies. Mustn’t dawdle. There’s plenty more work to be done.”

**Author's Note:**

> Tortoiseshells prompted me with Emma, Mary, and "family!" I struggled with this one and I'm not 100% happy with it, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.
> 
> The real life inspiration for Anne Hastings (Anne Reading) did have a sister who also worked as a nurse during the war, but she was stationed in the North rather than Alexandria. This information comes from the nonfiction companion book, Heroines of Mercy Street. I've been wanting to use her in a story forever, so perhaps this is laying the groundwork for that...she may pop up some day! (She's also made an appearance in a flashback fic of mine, "By the Chimney with Care".) Mary's sister Caroline has featured or been mentioned in many fics by other authors, including middlemarch. I lovingly borrowed her for this.
> 
> Title of course comes from Hamilton.


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